1. Field
A steam generator and a cooking appliance are disclosed herein.
2. Background
Cooking appliances are a kind of kitchen equipment that heats and cooks food or other items to change a state thereof. Such a cooking appliance may be classified into an electric cooking appliance and a gas cooking appliance according to a kind of heating source.
A heater to generate heat using supplied electricity as a heating source may be mounted on the electric cooking appliance. Also, a burner to generate heat by producing combustion of a supplied gas to generate a flame may be mounted on the gas cooking appliance.
Cooking appliances may be classified into an oven type cooking appliance that heats food in a state in which the food is received into a cooking chamber that provides a space in which the food is cooked, and a range type cooking appliance that heats a container, in which food is contained, in an open space according to a shape thereof. In recent years, multifunctional cooking appliances, which are capable of cooking various food and satisfying user's tastes, that is, an oven range type cooking appliances in which the oven type cooking appliance and the range type cooking appliance are combined, have been developed.
Various types of heating sources to heat food may be mounted on the cooking appliances. Such a heating source may include a magnetron to irradiate microwaves onto food to heat the food, a heater to convert electric energy into heat energy to heat received food, or a burner to produce combustion of a supplied gas to generate a flame, thereby heating the food.
Also, cooking appliances on which at least two heating sources are mounted to cook various food are being provided. For example, the magnetron and the heater may be mounted as the heating sources, or the heater and the burner may be mounted as the heating sources.
In addition, cooking appliances to generate steam to cook various food, reduce a cooking time, and clean a cooking space are being released. That is, the cooking appliances may perform functions in which food is heated using steam, food is dried using steam, or a cooking space is cleaned using steam. However, if water boils over, and thus, is introduced into the cooking space, the cooking space has to be cleaned to prevent the cooking space from being contaminated.
Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0112966 discloses a steam generator and a cooking appliance including the same, and more particularly, a steam generator that generates steam to more efficiently cook food using the generated steam and a cooking appliance including the same. The steam generator includes a heating space in which water is stored, a water supply part, through which the water stored in the heating space is supplied, defined above a maximum water level of the water stored in the heating space, a steam discharge part, through which steam generated by heating the water stored in the heating space is discharged, defined above the water supply part, and one steam heater to heat the water stored in the heating space to generate the steam. As disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0112966, the steam function to supplement moisture evaporated while food is cooked and/or supply steam into the food to cook the food using high-temperature steam may be provided for efficiently cooking the food.
As described above, steam may be an important factor in cooking food. That is, the steam may be an issue of importance in improving satisfaction in a state of cooked food, cleaning of a cooking space, and prevention of contamination, and reduction of cooking time.